Martin petry



(No Mddel.)

M PETRY BULLETIN BOARD.

No. 533,915; Patented Feb. 12,1895.

INVENTOH ATTO EYS,

PATENT es.

MARTIN PETRY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BULLETIN-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,915, dated February 12, 1895. Application filed March 10,1894. Serial No. 503,126. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, MARTIN PETRY, a citizen of the United. States, residing'in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bulletin-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to bulletin-boards adapted for the use of newspaper offices or for other places, such as theaters, desiring a display-bulletin; and its object is to provide a bulletin-board for the display at night of various newspaper items, election returns, advertisements, &c., and whereby the required words, headings or sentences can be quickly put into readable shape, and further to provide a comparatively simple and unique con struction whereto is imparted considerable attractiveness.

My invention consists of a bulletin-board, comprising a translucent foundation-plate, parallel strips of translucent material secured to said foundation-plate and having beveled edges providing dovetail grooves between the strips and opaque letters, figures or characters, each provided with a dovetail shank adapted for insertion in saidgrooves.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved bulletin-board. Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof, showing the same in connection with a lamp arranged behind it so as to efiect the properdisplay, on line 2-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail showing the manner of hinging and connecting one of the side-bars to the frame, on line 3-3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is an enlarged sectional detail showing the strips applied to the translucent body to form the dovetail grooves, and also the dovetail blocks bearing the letters, figiires or characters. Fig, 5 is a broken detai d Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, letter A designates the main-body or plate, of the bulletinboard, the same'being made of translucent material such as ground-glass, and adapted for removable insertion in a frame B which is provided with suitable parallel grooves 12 therefor.

The side-bar B of the frame is attached at one side by hinges-b'to the other portion thereof, so that it may be swung to one side for permitting the introduction'and removal of the body or plate A or for the introduction and removal of the letters from the plate. Said side-bar B may be held in closed position by a suitable fastening device b whereby the body or plate is locked in position in the frame.

The front face of the body or plate A is provided with equally or diversely spaced dovetail grooves, as a, formed by parallel paired strips 0, O, secured to the body by means of screws a the adj acent edges of which strips are beveled and separated a suitable distance so as to provide said grooves between them. These strips 0, O, are also made of translucent or even transparent material, such as glass. The grooves receive the dovetail-. shanks D of glass or other suitable material, said shanks bearing the relief letters, numbers or characters d which are constructed of .wood, sheet-metal or other vsuitable opaque or semi-opaque material and which are secured to the shanks in any suitable manner, as by screws (1'.

The board is preferably mounted on rollers e so as to facilitate its removal from the in side to the outside of the newspaper office or vice versa. With a suitable number of dovetail-shanks D bearing the proper letters, numbers or characters, any word, heading, sentence, 850., may be arranged on the bulletin-board, such as shown in Fig. 1. After the board has been supplied with the desired matter it is hung upon a suitable bracket or arm F on the outside of the building, from which bracket is suspended an electric lamp L, so that the light issuing therefrom can pass through the board located in front of the same, and thus boldly display the opaque letters, figures or characters to the public.

The boldness of the letters is not affected in the least by the dove-tail projections, as the latter are no wider than any portion of the letter, behind which they are located, and hence they do not project beyond the edges of the letters.

For the purpose of amusing the people in the intervals between the posting of' returns movable. figures of the candidates, made of colored glass, could be prepared and inserted into the grooves of the board, and so con-' structed as to be moved in ridiculous attitudes by means of electricity in the same way as figures are now moved in advertising signs in show-windows.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A bulletin-board comprising a frame open at one side, a movable side-bar located at said open side, means for attaching said side-bar to the frame, a translucent foundation-plate inserted into said frame, parallel guide-strips of translucent material secured to said plate and having undercut edges so as to form grooves, and opaque letters, figures or characters each provided with ashank shaped to fit into the grooves between the strips on opening the movable side-bar, substantially as set forth.

2. A bulletin-board comprising a frame open at one side, a movable side-bar located at said open side, means for attaching said side-bar to the frame, a translucent foundation-plate inserted into said frame, parallel guide-strips of translucent material, secured to said plate and having beveled edges so as to form dovetail grooves, and opaque letters, figures or characters, each provided with a dovetail shank and adapted for insertion into the dovetail-gr0oves between the strips on opening the movable side-bar, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARTIN PE'lRY.

Witnesses:

Geo. L. WHnnLocK, K. R. BRENNAN. 

